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... if only it knew the fate that awaited it.
Trust me, as good as the body looks from here, you should see it from underneath. I was breaking off chunks of the sheetmetal tophat sections across the bottom of the floorboard with my bare hands. We've closed bridges for less than that. The more time we spent pulling this thing apart, the less I regretted choosing to switch bodies. I'd say about 1/2 of the bolts in this truck have come out in one piece so far.
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As of Saturday night, 10/29/05. The only things connecting the body to the frame are the brake lines, speedometer cable, fuel filler hose (with clamps removed), and eight body mount bolts.
We removed everything mentioned above except the body mount bolts Sunday morning, and spent the rest of Sunday with the IR impact gun, rotary cutoff tool, air hammer, cold chisels, 4 lb. "persuader", and lots of Liquid Wrench and Kroil -- all to get the first *five* body mount bolts out. Hope to get the rest this week.
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11/5/05 -- time for the body and frame to part ways, after only 15 or so years.
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Our lifting method probably qualifies as "dumbest dang thing I ever done did," but there was no wind out, and we were extremely careful to stay in a position where we could move *fast* if the body decided it wanted to move to a lower elevation. Hard to see, but the back 60% or so of the body is supported by a hoist in a position that actually gives it pretty good lateral stability in the rear. It's actually resting about 50% on the blocks and 50% on the jacks and hoist at this point. We went for the lowest possible amount of lift that would allow us to roll the frame out.
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Note the strap. With the back tires aired down to about 6psi for clearance, we had used one of the F-250s in low range to creep the frame forward and clear. At this point we'd been working for about five hours -- takes a while to do things this way when you're being cautious to keep all your limbs intact.
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JB was particularly amused by the fact that he could now stand on the rear leaf spring.
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The body clear of the frame at maximum height, and ready to start slowly coming back down. It was still pretty dicey and unstable at this point.
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Yeah, it's like that. Not my best photo. Probably not my worst, which is even scarier.
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"Hey, look! It's Captain Morgan!" Yes, he actually said that. He's got the pose off the bottle down pretty well, too. You should probably hide your women, children, and leaf springs when he's around. 
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Umbulu the Great Spear Hunter and his driver aboard the Chariot of Doom. Yeah, we were getting pretty punchy at this point.
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Blurry picture of the wiring, brakes, and plumbing on the left framerail.
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Coil, EVR, TAB, TAD, and fuel pressure regulator.
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E4OD and electronic BW 13-56, going for the record for "Heaviest transmission and transfer case combination ever placed behind a measley 302 cubic inch engine."
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Thermactor plumbing at pump.
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Throttle body. My manifold was so thoroughly coated with combustion byproducts and blowby via the PCV, you probably wouldn't want to light a match anywhere near here.
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Brand new alternator #2, installed one month before I discovered how disgustingly easy it would've been to swap over to a 130A G3 instead. Doh.
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Wiring at starter relay, currently leaning against back of bumper.
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Thermactor plumbing on back of heads. The color codes on the vacuum tubes match the factory diagram, and were marked last year when I had to replumb the original emissions vacuum system.
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No more front bumper, 302 on a stand. It's disgusting how quickly you can pull an engine when there's no bodywork in the way.
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"Bob, I think you're missing something."
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Harold: "You know, there are easier ways to remove a transmission."
Actually, I wish it had only taken 10 minutes *last* two times I had it out.
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They always look so small on the stand.
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The Summit shorties only cost $125 for the pair. They're made by Pacesetter.
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Note the rear cab mount brackets just in front of the #3 crossmember. They'll be gone soon. They're not needed under the F-150 cab.
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The damage to the frame at the mounts was pretty common in the back, caused by a combination of rust and wear as the mounts shifted. Luckily this bracket doesn't need to be repaired, since it's going away ...
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The remaining mounts (that didn't fall out due to frame damage) were an absolute pain the rear to remove. Good thing I wasn't planning to re-use any of that hardware.
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Third time I've had this sucker out. I should have gone with my first instinct the first time and replaced it with an iron case four speed.
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BW 13-56 good. Electronic shift bad. At least it's still working. (Knock on wood)
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No wonder the driveshaft is so short.
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Doesn't look so bad, though, does it?
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Think again. Luckily I won't have to repair this one, since it will have a substantial plate over top of it to support the back of the bed anyway.
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These two in front of the gas tank (by the #4 crossmember) are another matter, though. Look at the hole on the left, just by the can of liquid wrench -- that's f'ing huge! And what metal you do see in the top flange is mostly paper thin, with the exception of a little bit right at the edge, and toward the bend at the web. These will have to be patched.
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Rolled outside on 11/10/05 for the first of several serious degreasings.
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That rear driver's side mount was the only undamaged mount rear of the firewall/front floorboard. Shame the tophat section under the body that it attached to was rotten.
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Wait, I take that back. The second driver's side mount (the bracket just ahead of the #3 crossmember, that I stated would be removed later) was undamaged top and bottom, and was the third main mount retaining the body. Essentially that mount plus the two under the firewall were the only things holding the body to the frame. Yeowch.
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I have more crude on that #1 crossmember than a small middle-eastern country.
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The hosing off begins. I've obviously sat in one too many piles of rust and filth. This initial cleaning basically completed work done on 11/10.
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Right side wheel arch, still good ...
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Teardown
